The primary emphasis was on D-SLRs during the photokina 2008 show, but many new digicams with integral lenses were introduced, including some inexpensive models strictly for quick snapshooting. While those may find eager buyers, I’ll concentrate on cameras intended for the photo enthusiast. In these categories, only a few trends became obvious, starting with resolution: 13- and 14-megapixel...

First announced as a "product under development" in September 2006, the DP1 finally became available 18 months later and it was worth the wait. Aside from solving some image quality issues, the engineers also modified the specifications, delivering a better camera than we had initially expected. In spite of the compact size, this is not a typical point-and-shoot...

Although the D-SLR category is growing more rapidly, digicams with integral lenses still outsell the larger cameras by roughly 10 to 1. That's primarily because of the lower price and particularly the greater portability. Even the most serious photographer usually wants a pocket-size camera--with built-in lens and flash--that they can carry most anywhere.
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A funny thing happened to me while I was shooting and reviewing the new Sigma DP1 compact camera in New Mexico. I had taken a lunch break in a local taqueria and in came a couple that sat down at the next table. Next to the guy's backpack and hat he set down the Sigma DP1. I did a double take, and asked him how he liked it. "Great," he said, "the picture...

As a photo enthusiast becomes more serious about making pictures, acquiring a larger and larger set of tools (lenses and accessories) to accommodate every possible contingency and capability seems to be essential. Unfortunately, a complex of lenses and accessories can make it all a very deliberate exercise. We all wish it could be more of a spontaneous, free-spirited adventure and...

Notes On Our Tests This month-long test was not intended as a scientific experiment for drawing definitive conclusions about all of the technical aspects involved. That would require testing numerous cameras--of all brands--under strictly controlled conditions and using high-tech equipment for image-quality analyses.

Who would have thought that back when I bought my Olympus C-2100, which then boasted a 2-megapixel CCD, that one day I would be writing about cameras a fraction of its size with 10-megapixel imaging sensors? Interestingly, that camera sported a 10x optical zoom with Optical Image Stabilization (both courtesy of Canon). The cameras currently under discussion don't have 10x...

New digicams now offer higher resolution, larger LCD screens, longer zoom lenses, more compact body size, greater speed, and some other amenities that I'll discuss in this report. And the megapixel race has not really slowed as we had expected a year ago. Apparently, some consumers are not satisfied with 6- or 7-megapixel (MP) resolution, making the ultrahigh-resolution...

The moment you take the eagerly anticipated Leica M8 in your hands you know that the design engineers at Leica have gone to great lengths to preserve the look and feel of perhaps the greatest 35mm rangefinder camera of all time, the legendary M-series Leica that debuted in 1954 as the original M3 and continues as the classic retro MP and autoexposure M7. The M8 retains the classic...

During the photokina 2006 show, many new digicams were introduced with higher resolution: 10-megapixel sensors are now typical in the upscale models while 7-megapixel sensors are becoming the norm in many other categories. In terms of features, larger LCD monitors, at least 2.5" in size, have become standard; touch-screen LCDs (discussed later) have been introduced and...